It is important to clarify that to interpret what our cat wants to express and understand the reason for its behavior, it is key to take into account its history, personality, language, context and relationship with humans.
This is one of the most common questions I receive in my practice. Cats bite by nature and do so for different reasons.
Humans do not know the nature and language of cats, so they do not understand them, they do not know how to interpret them and therefore they do not know how to act on them. Unfortunately, because of this, people think that their cat is misbehaving, bad, aggressive, treacherous or surly. And anything farter from the reality. Cats behave neither badly nor well, cats are cats, they are extraordinary beings and very loving in their own way and in their language. And they need us to understand them and help them to be cats.
In general terms, these are the four possible situations in which cats can bite us.
- The love bite This is very mild and usually happens after our cat is licking us. It is a very delicate, short bite, it does not usually hurt or cause harm. It is an affectionate and friendly display on your part.
- The predatory bite “My cat attacks me, suddenly bites my hands or feet.” This behavior is usually predatory play (it is not an attack or aggression) and is taught and positively reinforced by the human. Do we want this to happen? No. The Cats are hunting animals, they bite by nature, hunting is part of their innate behavior and they need to do it to feel good, stimulated and happy. Cats hunt for food and as an activity that generates pleasure and fun. However, it is not recommended that they hunt. Let’s teach our cats to hunt us, because this has a negative effect on their mental health, their behavior and their way of relating and communicating with humans, cats and other animals.
How do we teach and positively reinforce that they hunt and bite us?
When we play with them with our hands and feet, when we play rough with our body, we provoke them to bite us and/or when we respond to their bite in a way that for the cat is a positive reinforcer, such as continuing to insist on the game, struggling with some part of the body, allowing it to continue biting us, caressing it, among others.
Cats that have been separated before 3 months from their mother and siblings, have been raised alone, have been taught to hunt the human body and have been scolded, are cats that will be unbalanced, will communicate by biting at everything, will be more susceptible to suffering from stress, they will interact more aggressively with humans and other animals, they will have conflictive relationships with other cats, they will be more likely to suffer an episode of redirected aggression. It’s worth it? No. How we act and relate to our cats is key to helping them grow and live balanced, safe and happy.
When baby kittens are played with hands and feet and taught that it is okay to bite, it can be very cute and fun at first, however, when they grow up and are big the bite is stronger, more intense and hurts, and the human He starts scolding, yelling, and reacting differently to something he taught the cat. Not only is there an inconsistency in communication towards the cat, but this also causes frustration, fear, mistrust and insecurity.
The bite of no more
This is the bite as part of his communication to tell us “No more” in the face of some interaction we are having with him. We humans can become very invasive with cats when we want to show them our love and invade them with our caresses. Each cat is different and unique, so there are cats that enjoy petting more than others that do not tolerate it. And it’s very good.
It must be taken into account that this depends a lot on your personality and the previous experiences or interactions you have had with the human during your first three months of life.
- What’s happening? Because we do not understand its language, we consent, we insist, the cat is telling us that it does not want more with the movement of its ears, moving its tail strongly (like a whip), turning its face and looking at our hand and/or meowing like a whine. and we do not see these signs and we continue to insist, then the cat has no other way but to bite us to say “Stop, No more.”
- Do we want this to happen? No. Because it negatively affects the trust and bond he has with you, and if you also scold him, he may avoid you and even distance himself from you. Sadly, because of this, labels are given to the cat as bad, surly, treacherous and aggressive. And that is not the case, the cat acted like a cat and the human is the cause of this by not having interpreted its signals and not having respected them.
- What is there to do? Stop and respect, do not be invasive. Accept our cats as they are, without demands, without expectations, without demanding or forcing anything from them. Observe its language, get to know the cat, and when it comes to spoiling it if it likes it, discover where it likes it most, for how long and at what time. And if you don’t like it, that’s fine, accept it and don’t insist.
- The bite signals a warning: My cat didn’t do it, and from one moment to the next it is biting me.” No one knows our cats better than ourselves, however, if your cat suddenly started biting or hissing at you when you touched him or approached him (and this didn’t happen before) it could be a sign of that something is wrong with him, he doesn’t feel well and he needs your attention and your help. It can bite you as a reaction to physical pain or discomfort, so it is best to take it to the vet for a check-up.
- ¿Qué podemos hacer?
- Recommendations:
- Respect the learning and socialization period of the kittens with their mother and siblings in their first 3 months of life.
- If you don’t have cats and are bringing a baby kitten, take him or her with a little brother or another kitten. Kittens bite and need to play hand-to-hand with another kitten, they need to continue learning with one of the same species.
- DO NOT play with your hands or feet (or under the sheet or blanket)
- DO NOT play rough, provoke or scare him.
- DO NOT positively reinforce this behavior. As? Every time your cat chases and bites you, stop the interaction. Tell him that it hurts by making an ayayaiii noise, do not move or struggle with your hand or foot and once he lets go, you remove your hand or foot, turn your back to him, leave and ignore him for a few minutes (don’t talk to him, don’t look, don’t touch it). You have to always do it, it doesn’t work sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t. Just as all human members of the family should do.
- DO NOT scold him or yell or punish him, this does not work with cats, this is not how they are taught and it does negatively affect their mental health and the bond they have with you.
- DO NOT use any aversive method for the cat such as water spray
- Offer stimulation and environmental enrichment.
- Play with toys far away from your body. Help him become a cat by carrying out predatory play sessions where the cat can develop his hunting behavior, stalking, chasing, capturing, biting and killing, and for this fishing rods or a little rope with a mouse or feather at the end are very practical. It is very important that your cat likes and enjoys both the toy and the game.
